Painting and Refinishing the Brake Calipers on a Lexus ES300 (With Videos)

As a continuation of my 1997 Lexus ES 300 restoration project, I decided to replace the brake pads both at the front and rear end. With a little extra time and effort, I also decided to remove all the rust, oxidation and grime that had accumulated over 20 years on the brake calipers and rotors. After the calipers and rotors were cleaned up, I used masking tape and heat-resistant outdoor spray paint to re-paint them.

I purchased 500-degree heat-resistant aluminum spray paint for the calipers and black barbecue spray paint for the non contact surfaces of the rotors. The aluminum spray paint worked out great, since drying time was less than 10 minutes and the fan spray nozzle produced a nice, uniform, atomized pattern.

Spray-painting the calipers

The rotors are made of cast iron. When new, they have a light corrosion-resistant coating from the factory, that begins to break down and show rust in a few years. Aftermarket brake component suppliers are now offering brake rotors with corrosion-resistant black or silver paint. So if you want, you can buy new rotors that have been pre-painted. My preference is to paint them myself if the rotors can still be resurfaced.

I did the initial cleanup of the calipers and rotors with a rotary wire brush, and removed the residue using spray brake solvent. I treated the penetrated rust on the rotors with rust dissolver. I had some left over naval jelly and used that on the rotors, but you can go the extra step by purchasing rust dissolver that reacts with the rust and locks future rust from forming.

You can spray on your finishing paint without priming. The absolute best stuff I've seen used is called POR 15. It works wonderfully but is not cheap.

After I painted the rotors with two coats, I had the rotors turned (resurfaced), which removed any residual paint over-spray.

Before painting the brake calipers, I masked over the slide pins and their dust boots. Instead of disconnecting the brake line from the caliper, I masked the brake lines and painted the calipers with the lines attached.

When I put the brakes back together with new brake pads, people were amazed at how nice they looked.

Tools Needed

Different-sized wire brushes

Rotary wire brush that can attach to a drill

"Brake clean" spray solvent

Masking tape

Rust dissolver or remover

Heat-resistant outdoor spray paint (for both the rotors and calipers)

Refinishing and Painting the Brake Calipers on a Lexus ES 300

The videos below show you step-by-step how to clean up and paint the brake calipers.

Step II. Tape-Mask the Caliper and Paint

Apply masking tape to the caliper bracket slid pins and dust boots. You can now apply light coats of spray paint to the caliper bracket. After the bracket is dry (based on the drying time of the paint you're using), revisit the caliper and paint over areas that have been missed.

Wrap the caliper brake line and caliper piston with masking tape. Support the caliper and apply a light coat of spray paint. Revisit after drying, and paint over areas that have been missed.

The video below demonstrates how I refinished the front brake rotors. After the rotors dried, I had the rotors resurfaced. The resurfacing removed any residual paint overspray, which is why I did not mask over the brake pad contact surfaces.

Step IV. Mount the Brake Rotor, Caliper Bracket and Caliper

With all brake components painted and dry, perform the following:

Mount the rotor to the steering knuckle and hold in place with a lug nut.

Lubricate the caliper bracket pins.

Install the brake pad slide shims to the caliper bracket.

Install the brake pads onto the caliper bracket.

Bolt the caliper bracket onto the steering knuckle.

bolt the top portion of the caliper onto the caliper bracket

press in the caliper piston (if you are using new pads)

lower the caliper over the pads and secure the lower bolt

connect the brake line bracket to the suspension strut

The below video demonstrates how I did it.

Step 5. Rear Brakes: Same Technique for Refinishing and Painting with Slight Differences

The re-finishing and painting of the rear brake calipers and rotors is not much different than the front calipers.

The video below demonstrates how I did it.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

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